gances of the church of Rome of that time, which appear to have excited his sense of the ludicrous. Besides these he published four engravings, done in aquatinta by Paul Sandby, from drawings made by himself when at Rome, where, in a vein of quiet drollery, he holds up to ridicule the festivities of that city in connection with the sports of the carnival. Several of the figures were portraits of persons well known to the English who visited Rome during his stay there, and their truthfulness gave much satisfaction at the time.

His personal appearance was not in his favour. "His figure," says the author of his life in Brown's Scenery edition of the Gentle Shepherd, 1808, "was a bad resemblance of his humorous precursor of the English metropolis. He was under the middle size; of a slender, feeble make; with a long, sharp, lean, white, coarse face, much pitted by the small pox, and fair hair. His large prominent eyes, of a light colour, looked weak, near-sighted, and not very animated. His nose was long and high, his mouth wide, and both ill-shaped. His whole exterior to strangers appeared unengaging, trifling and mean. His deportment was timid and obsequious. The prejudices naturally excited by these external disadvantages at introduction, were soon, however, dispelled on acquaintance; and, as he became easy and pleased, gradually yielded to agreeable sensations; till they insensibly vanished, and were not only overlooked, but, from the effect of contrast, even heightened the attractions by which they were so unexpectedly followed. When in company he esteemed, and which suited his taste, as restraint wore off, his eye imperceptibly became active, bright and penetrating; his manner and address quick, lively, and interesting- always kind, polite, and respectful; his conversation open and gay, humorous without satire, and playfully replete with benevolence, observation, and anecdote." He resided in Dickson's close, High street, Edinburgh, where he received private pupils in his art. One of the most celebrated of his pupils was the late Mr. H. W. Williams, commonly called Grecian Williams. "The satiric humour and drollery," says Mr. Wilson, in his Memorials of Edinburgh. (vol. ii. page 40), "of his well-known 'rebuke scene' in a country church, and the lively expression and spirit of the 'General Assembly,' and

others of his own etchings, amply justify the character he enjoyed among his contemporaries as a truthful and humorous delineator of nature." "As a painter," says the author of his life already quoted, "at least in his own country, he neither excelled in drawing, composition, colouring, nor effect. Like Hogarth, too, beauty, grace, and grandeur, either of individual outline and form, or of style, constitute no part of his merit. He was no Corregio, Raphael, or Michael Angelo. He painted portraits, as well as Hogarth, below the size of life; but they are recommended by nothing save a strong homely resemblance. As an artist and a man of genius, his characteristic talent lay in expression, in the imitation of nature with truth and humour, especially in the representation of ludicrous scenes in low life. His vigilant eye was ever on the watch for every eccentric figure, every motley group, or ridiculous incident, out of which his pencil or his needle could draw innocent entertainment and mirth." He died at Edinburgh on the 6th of August 1796, in the 53d year of his age, and was interred in the High Calton buryingground. He had married in 1788 Shirley Welsh, the youngest daughter of Thomas Welsh, a carver and gilder in Edinburgh. He had five children, three of whom died in infancy. His surviving son, David, went out as a cadet to India in 1806. He also left a daughter named Barbara.-Brown's Scenery edition of the Gentle Shepherd, appendix.

ALLAN, ROBERT, a minor poet, some of whose lyrics and songs have long been popular in Scotland, was born at Kilbarchan, in Renfrewshire, 4th November, 1774. He was a handloom weaver, and all his life in humble circumstances. To relieve the tedium of his occupation he occasionally had recourse to poetry. In 1836, a volume of his poems was published by subscription, but made no great impression. The principal poem in the volume, entitled 'An Address to the Robin,' is written in the Scottish dialect. His most popular pieces are 'The bonny built wherry;' 'The Covenanter's Lament;' Woman's wark will ne'er be dune;' 'Haud awa' frae me, Donald;' and the ballad 'O speed, Lord Nithsdale.' He had a numerous family, all of whom were married except his youngest son, a portrait painter of great promise, who emigrated to the United States. Desirous of